Timbers shut out in Montreal

MONTREAL — A day that called for inspiration produced only injury for the Portland Timbers.

The expansion Montreal Impact posted their second Major League Soccer win on Saturday, scoring a pair of second-half goals to beat the Timbers 2-1 in front of 19,223 fans at Olympic Stadium.

Bernardo Corradi and Sinisa Ubiparipovic scored the goals in the final 20 minutes as the Timbers continued a season-long struggle late in matches.

Both goals came after Joe Bendik replaced injured goalkeeper Troy Perkins in the 67th minute. Perkins suffered cuts to his face and nose while sliding near the top of the penalty area to prevent a scoring chance for Sanna Nyassi. Nyassi’s foot caught Perkins in the face.

In the 20th minute, Timbers right back Steve Purdy suffered a concussion and was replaced by Freddie Braun.

The loss keeps the Timbers (2-5-1, seven points) anchored at the bottom of the MLS Western Conference. The Impact (2-5-2, eight points) sit ninth in the East but are unbeaten in three home matches.

“I don’t think we played well at all today,” Timbers coach John Spencer said. “I think that the field was very poor and it matched with our performance.”

Corradi scored the first goal in the 76th minute, converting a penalty kick after a handball foul was called against Portland defender Steven Smith. With the Impact pressing the attack, Smith blocked a shot by midfielder Collen Warner.

Smith, who played his first game for the Timbers after signing with the team on Wednesday, blocked the shot with his leg before the ball bounced up and hit the defender’s arm. Smith and several of his teammates protested the penalty decision from referee Jorge Gonzalez.

“Montreal played better than us, they worked harder than us, so they deserved the victory,” Portland forward Kris Boyd said. “I think the penalty decision changed the game. But we need to look at our performance. It wasn’t good enough on the road.”

In the 84th minute, an unmarked Ubiparipovic scored a tap-in goal off a cross from Davy Arnaud that eluded the diving Bendik.

“We’ve felt all along that the team was coming together,” Montreal coach Jesse Marsch said. “No disrespect to Portland, because they have a good team despite their slow start, but this was a dominant performance by us from start to finish.”

On the worn artificial turf of Olympic Stadium, the Timbers struggled with possession, the ball routinely getting away from players on their first touch and passes often running too far to be played. With almost no offensive buildup, Portland’s best scoring chances came from an early Darlington Nagbe free kick, and a chance for Jack Jewsbury in the 38th minute that was easily handled by Impact goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

The Timbers have lost five of their last six. They haven’t scored a goal for themselves for almost three full games.

“I think consistency has been an issue for us on the road,” Jewsbury said. “We came out last week again Kansas City, at home, we were winning second balls and had a great game. It’s just a matter of finding that consistency on the road now.”

NOTES — In addition to the two injury substitutions, Spencer inserted Franck Songo’o in the 59th minute for Jorge Perlaza. … Forward Brent Richards from Camas was one of the seven substitutes who dressed for Portland, but he did not play. Also not used were defenders Mike Chabala and Rodney Wallace and midfielder Eric Alexander. Montreal’s Warner, whose shot led to the penalty kick, played college soccer at the University of Portland, and in 2009 for the Timbers under-23 team. … Portland plays three of its next four matches at home, starting with a visit from Columbus next Saturday.

Scoring:?

MON: Corradi (penalty kick), 76; ?MON: Ubiparipovic (Corradi, Arnaud), 84

Misconduct summary:?

MON: Nyassi (Caution), 68; ?POR: Boyd (Caution), 77?.

PORTLAND??

Lineup: GK Perkins (Bendik, 67), D Purdy (Braun, 20), D Mosquera, D Brunner, D Smith, M Nagbe, M Jewsbury, M Palmer, M Chara, F Perlaza (Songo’o, 59), F Boyd. ??Substitutes Not Used: D Chabala, D Wallace, M Alexander, F Richards??.

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Jewsbury, Mosquera, Nagbe, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Nagbe, 2); FOULS: 10 (Chara, 3); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3 (Perkins, 2)

??MONTREAL

Lineup: GK Ricketts, D Valentin, D Ferrari, D Thomas, D Wahl, M Arnaud, M Warner, M Martins, M Mapp (Neagle, 57), F Nyassi (Ubiparipovic, 68), F Corradi (Sebrango, 89). ??Substitutes Not Used: GK Sutton, D Brovsky, D Gardner, M Bernier??.

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Arnaud, Warner, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Martins, 2); FOULS: 14 (Martins, 4); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4